


A Story of True Love

by verboseDescription



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Fairy Tale Elements, post petals to the metal, thoughts on how goldcliff sees their tree basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 00:30:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8599888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verboseDescription/pseuds/verboseDescription
Summary: Everyone in Goldcliff knows the story of the Raven and the Ram. Everyone knows that they didn't get the happy ending they wanted, but that didn't make it a story that wasn't worth telling.After all, just because they turned into a tree to stay together doesn't mean we have to.





	

Here’s the story:

There’s a cherry tree in Goldcliff, and underneath it is the two most beautiful masks anyone has ever seen. At first, it surprised everyone that the masks had stayed so long. Surely, someone would have taken them by now, or if not some _one,_ some _thing._ And surely, such a beautiful tree couldn’t stay as it was, not so close to the Battle Wagon racing track. Surely, it couldn’t look so majestic and untouched forever.

But the masks remained. And so did the tree.

It was impossible for anyone to forget about either when they saw it every day, and it was starting to seem impossible for either to disappear.

So they remained. And they remained in the memories of everyone.

 

Here’s the story:

Lieutenant Hurley was as famous as a cop could be. She was kind and thoughtful, and argued against corruption in all forms.

The Raven was as infamous as a thief could be. Everyone knew of her, and knew of her prowess in battle racing, and she terrified them all.

Hurley is not a cop people forget, not even in death.

And The Raven is not a crook that disappears from minds so easily.

 

Here’s the story:

Not everyone goes to see the battle wagons, but everyone knows of it. Word of mouth travels quickly, and inaccurately, and sometimes stories turn into legends before day turns to noon.

Sometimes, there are stories that were meant to become legends. Sometimes, there are people who are meant to be remembered.

And no matter how powerful an amnesia spell may be, it will never measure up to the power of a folk tale.

Everyone will always remember something, but not everyone remembers the same thing.

And sometimes, they can piece together a version of the truth that history will remember.

 

Here’s the story:

Once upon a time there were two women in love.

Their names don’t matter, only that they were names spoken throughout the town. One of them was known for her theft and raven mask, while the other was a militiawoman known for upholding the law as best she could.

There love was not a love that was well known, but it was a love that could change the world, had they been luckier.

One day, The Raven finds herself a belt that allows her control nature as if it were an extra arm. But, there is a price. The belt warps the mind of its user, making them believe in nothing but power and think of nothing but having it.

The militiawoman weeps bitterly at the thought of her love delving so far into darkness, and three strangers appear in front of her. They tell her they are here for the belt. She tells them they are here to help her save her love.

The strangers agree to do what the woman asks, and so she asks them to race with her.

It was a game she played with her love. It was a game she hoped would help allow her love to come to her senses.

As custom, the woman dons a mask to hide her identity in the races. She chooses one designed to look like a ram.

 

The Ram performs beautifully in the races, as she always does. With her new team of three strangers, each with their own masks—an owl, for a wise yet childish healer. A bear, for a warm and loving fighter. And a mongoose, for a silly but cunning wizard—it seems as if they may indeed defeat The Raven.

But The Raven is a thief, and she knows how to escape tight corners. Had she been her normal self, she might have not reacted so extremely, but that day she was nothing but a vessel for power. The plants that she had once controlled so easily were now engulfing her as if it was making her a cocoon and The Ram knew that time was almost up.

“This isn’t you,” she insists. “You’re a good person. Raven, you’re not a killer.”

The Raven responds by using her plants to create the most deadly poison possible. The Ram knows she cannot let the strangers get hurt on her behalf, and so she leaps into danger, collecting all the poison in her small body before anyone can stop her.

The Raven gasps, her minds restored, and grabs her lovers small body before she can hit the ground.

“I was a fool,” she says.

“You were,” her lover agrees, smiling up at her.

“We have to do something,” says the stranger who is a mongoose.

“There’s no magic strong enough to save her,” sighs the stranger who is an owl.

“I’m sorry,” says the stranger who is a bear, and who knows what it is like to be left without your other half.

“There is one thing I can do,” The Raven says, and leans down and whispers something in her lover’s ear.

“Yeah,” The Ram says, her voice weak but her eyes full of life. “Yeah, I think that’d be okay.”

 

No one knows how the transformation happened. But no one knows how a mere thief managed to take a belt as powerful as the one she used either.

All anyone can say is that the two women curled together, embracing with a ferocity that only true lovers could.

And then, where there had once been two women, there was one cherry tree. At the base, the strangers could see the lovers’ masks, and the belt that caused all their troubles.

The strangers take the belt, promising no one would ever suffer like the two had, and leave town with their prize, never to be seen again.

But the story doesn’t end with them.

 

Here’s the story:

In Goldcliff, there is a tree. And in that tree, you can see two figures embracing.

Never again would they let horrors of the world tear them apart or, anyone else.

They are safe. They are together, as they will be for eternity.

They are the most beautiful tree you’ll ever see.

Some say that the Raven’s Cherry Tree now protects the town. That if you ask for their blessing, your relationship will become strong enough to survive anything the world throws your way, and that you will become strong enough to survive it too.

 

Here’s what I see:

Two women walk, holding hands, as they come back from a visit to the tree. They both wear beautiful white dresses and have a small pink flower attached to their veils. Occasionally, they meet the other’s gaze and burst into nervous giggles.

 _Can you believe it?_ Their laughter seems to say, _Can you believe I’m already your wife?_

 

 

 

And I promise you, they will be just fine.

And Hurley promises you, you will be too.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in love with the idea of Hurley and Sloane being immortalized as a bittersweet yet hopeful story that gives people, especially wlw, hope.  
> mentions of a "amnesia spell" was basically just me saying that like, regardless of what the Bureau of Balance did, the town was gonna remember something about the two of them.


End file.
